COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field teams will send a squad of 10 individuals to compete in the fifth annual Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York, N.Y., the rest of the team will participate in the Doug Raymond Invitational in Kent, Ohio.

The Armory Collegiate Invitational will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday with the women’s 500-meter run while the Doug Raymond Invitational will begin at 10:15 on Saturday with the men’s 5,000-meter run.

INFORMATION ON ARMORY AND RAYMOND INVITATIONALS Information for the 2005 New York Amory Invitational may be accessed at the following link http://www.armorytrack.com/collegiate_invit.htm. Live results will be posted at the site throughout competition.

For the Raymond Invite, fans can access meet info at www.kentstatesports.com.

LAST WEEK: BUCKEYES IMPRESS IN FIRST HOME MEET This past weekend, the Buckeyes competed at the non-team scoring Ohio State Invitational in French Field House.

Highlighting the day for the Buckeyes was senior Rosalind Goodwin, who provisionally qualified for the NCAA indoor championships in both the long and triple jumps. She took first place in both events, reaching 42-2 3/4 in the triple and 20-3 in the long jump. On the men’s side, freshman Marios Iacouvo became the first high jumper to clear the 7-foot mark for Ohio State since 1995. Iacouvo won the event with a height of 7 feet, 1/4 inches (7-0 1/4).

Shayla Moore also provisionally qualified for the NCAA’s in the triple jump with a leap of 42-1 1/4. Jenna Harris swept the sprint events, winning the 60-meter dash in a season-best 7.47 and claiming the top spot in the 200m at 24.71. In the weight throw, Shelaine Larson improved her provisional mark with a winning throw of 64-8 1/2.

Additionally for the men, Todd Dutch bested the field in the 200m at 21.99 and took second in the 60m in a season-best 6.83. Bryan Duby placed in the Top 5 of a highly contested weight throw event with a heave of 66-3.

GOODWIN PROVISIONALLY QUALIFIES IN BOTH LONG AND TRIPLE JUMPS For the second straight season, Rosalind Goodwin has set herself in solid position to reach the NCAA indoor championships in both the long and triple jumps. At the Ohio State Invitational, Goodwin provisionally qualified for the NCAA championships in the long jump with a performance of 20-3. The Louisville, Ky. native also improved upon her qualifying mark in the triple jump with a leap of 42-2 3/4.

THREE BUCKEYES PACE BIG TEN MARKS The Ohio State Invitational saw three Buckeyes post marks that would go on to serve as the top performances in the indoor Big Ten season. Senior Rosalind Goodwin notched jumps of 20-3 and 42-2 3/4 both of which serve as the top spot in the long and triple jumps. Also for the women, sophomore Jenna Harris notched a personal-best time of 7.47 in the 60m which gave her the best time in the conference.

On the men’s side, senior Bryan Duby continued his reign as the top weight thrower in the conference with a toss of 66-3 3/4 this past Saturday.

In addition, senior Shayla Moore ranks just behind Goodwin in the league triple jump at 42-1 1/4.

MOORE REACHES PROVISIONAL MARK IN TRIPLE JUMP Senior Shayla Moore joined fellow jumper Rosalind Goodwin as she earned an NCAA provisional mark in the triple jump at the Ohio State Invitational. Moore’s season best showing of 42-1 1/4 in the event placed second to Goodwin’s team best leap of 42-2 3/4. The pair ranks first and second in the Big Ten.

DUTCH, HARRIS IMPRESS IN SPRINTS Sophomore Jenna Harris scored first-place marks in both the 60 and 200-meter dashes Saturday. In the 60m, Harris set a career-best 7.47, narrowly missing a provisional qualifying mark to the NCAA championships. She won the 200 meter dash in a time of 24.02.

In addition to her performance in the 60m, Harris also helped the Buckeyes claim first place in the 4×400-meter relay as Ohio State clocked a time of 3:50.37.

Junior Todd Dutch timed a season-best 6.81 to place second in the 60m. Later in the meet he clocked a 21.99 to win the 200m. Dutch also helped the Buckeyes claim first place in the 4x400m relay as the team posted a time of 3:22.17. Dutch’s time in the 60m ranks second in the Big Ten.

IACOUVO FIRST TO CLEAR 7-FOOT MARK IN HIGH JUMP SINCE 1995 Freshman Marios Iacovou became the first Buckeye to clear 7 feet since 1995 in winning the men’s high jump last week at the Ohio State Invite.

Iacouvo, from Nicosia, Cypress, reached 7-0 1/4 for the winning mark, placing ahead of teammate and fellow freshman Pat Woods, who cleared the bar at 6-8 3/4. With he leap, Iacovou became the first Buckeye to exceed the 7-foot mark in the high jump since Otis Winston (1993-96) completed the feat in 1995 at 7-1 3/4. Iacouvo currently ranks second in the high jump among Big Ten athletes.

LARSON IMPROVES MARK TO WIN WEIGHT AT OSU INVITE Senior Shelaine Larson set a season-best performance in the women’s weight throw the Ohio State Invitational with a showing of 64-08 1/2 to win the event. Larson first hit the provisional mark Jan. 22 at the Indiana/Purdue Tri-meet with a showing of 64-07.

OHIO STATE ASSISTANT Robert Gary NAMED 2004 CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE YEAR Robert Gary, Ohio State cross country head coach and track and field distance coach, was named 2004 United States Cross Country Runner of the Year by Track and Field News.

Gary was awarded the honor following a tremendous campaign that saw him qualify for the 2004 World Cross Country Championships in both the 4 and 12-kilometer runs, posting times of 11:15 and 35:07, respectively, at the U.S. cross country championships.

At the world championships, Gary was the first American finisher in the 4k, clocking a time of 12:12.

In 2003, Gary also qualified for the world championships, winning the 4k title and placing sixth in the 12k run. Gary’s 2004 qualification to the world championships in two events marked the first time a U.S. runner made both teams in consecutive years.

Also in 2004, Gary earned a second trip to the summer Olympics in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Athens, Greece. His first trip to the Olympics came at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

This past fall, Gary directed the men’s team to a winning performance at the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships and its fourth appearance to the NCAA championships where the team finished 22nd of 30 teams.

DUBY AND LARSON MOVE INTO OSU ALL-TIME TOP 5 IN WEIGHT Senior throwers Bryan Duby and Shelaine Larson’s personal-best marks in the weight throw this season have moved both athletes into the Ohio State all-time Top 5 rankings in the event. Duby heaved a 67-0 to move into fourth in the all-time performance lists in the weight. He trails only Dan Taylor, who won the 2004 national championship in the event and closed his career with the second-best weight mark in NCAA history at 78-9.25. Taylor also owns the second and third best weight marks at Ohio State set in 2002 and 2003.

Larson’s performance of 64-8 1/2 places her at the No. 5 slot all-time in Buckeye annals.

Duby and Larson join fellow seniors Rosalind Goodwin and Shayla Moore as the only current Buckeyes listed on the all-time indoor performance lists. Goodwin tops both the long jump (20-9) and triple jump (43-6 1/2), while Moore stands in third in the triple at a length of 42-8 3/4.

GOODWIN AND DUDY RANKED IN NATIONAL TOP 10 Ohio State seniors Rosalind Goodwin and Bryan Duby are both ranked in the Top 10 nationally in the long jump and weight throw. Duby sits in ninth place overall in the country with his throw of 67-0 which occurred at the Indiana/Purdue tri-meet while Goodwin’s leap of 20-03 at the Ohio State Invitational stands as the 10th best performance in the country this season.

FIVE TOP FINISHES IN TWO WEEKS Senior jumper Rosalind Goodwin has begun the 2005 season with a bang by posting five first-place finishes in the Buckeyes’ opening three meets.

Goodwin began the season with a winning leap in the long jump at the Kentucky Invitational posting a performance of 19-4 3/4. The following week at the Indiana/Purdue tri-meet, she won the long and triple jumps. This past Saturday, Goodwin added her fourth and fifth winning her performances indoor campaign with season-best showings in the long (20-3) and triple jumps (42-2 3/4) at the Ohio State Invitational.

BUCKEYES EARN THREE FIRST-PLACE FINISHES AT KENTUCKY INVITE In its first meet of the season, the Ohio State track and field team saw three of its athletes earn winning marks in their respective events. On the women’s side, Shelaine Larson won the women’s shot put with a heave of 46-08.75 while Rosalind Goodwin claimed the long jump with a performance of 19-04.75. For the men, Jacob McCauley won the mile, clocking a time of 4:15.13.

BUCKEYE INDOOR DEBUTS The 2005 Kentucky Invitational marked the debut of seven Ohio State track and field athletes.

In the field events, high jumpers Marios Iacovou and Pat Woods competed in day-one competition Friday. During the event, Marios finished second with a leap 6-10.75, while Woods tied for seventh with a leap of 6-06.75.

On the women’s side, Colleen Farrell finished ninth with a height of 5-04.25. Farrell also competed in the 60-meter hurdles, posting a time of 9.18.

In the throwing events, the Buckeyes received strong performances from Lenny Jatsek, Pat Whalen and Dave Ebersole. Over the weekend, all three saw action in the weight throw. Jatsek and Whalen also competed in the shot put with Jatsek finishing eighth with a mark of 54-06.

In the sprint events, newcomers Tony Cole and Todd Dutch qualified for the finals in the preliminary heats of the 60m posting times of 6.88 and 6.89. Dutch, who transferred to Ohio State from the junior college ranks also competed in the 200m and finished seventh in a time of 21.46.

Melanie Grim also debuted for the Buckeyes last week and competed in the 3,000m.

OLINGER POSTS STRONG 2004 CROSS COUNTRY SEASON In the 2004 cross country season, Brian Olinger turned in one of the best individual performances in Ohio State history, capping his year with All-America honors after a 21st-place finish at the NCAA championships.

The native of Fresno, Ohio helped the Buckeyes to their fourth NCAA championships appearance in the last five years as he finished fourth at the 2004 NCAA Regional Championships, clocking a time of 30:18.7 in the 10-kilometer race. At the Big Ten Championships, Olinger was just as impressive, capturing first team all-league with a seventh-place finish in a time of 24:21.0.

THE INDOOR SCHEDULE The 2005 indoor season features two home meets at French Field House. The Buckeyes welcome visiting teams to the Ohio State Invitational Jan. 29 and the Scarlet and Gray Invitational Feb. 19 before heading to the Big Ten indoor meet Feb. 26-27 at Purdue for the men and Michigan for the women.

The schedule also offers a trip to the 2005 Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City Feb. 4-5 and a journey the following week to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State Classic Feb. 11-12.

Head coach Russ Rogers foresees the indoor schedule as a solid tune-up for the national meet in Fayetteville, Ark. March 11-12.

“Kentucky is our first big meet of the season,” Rogers said. “We have a tri-meet with Purdue and Indiana before we host our biggest home meet in the OSU Invite. In February, we send our top athletes to New York City for the Armory Collegiate Invite, which is a great meet for sprinters and hurdlers. By Big Ten’s, we should be among the Top 3 teams in both the men’s and women’s standings.”

GARY RETURNS TO THE OLYMPICS In August, Robert Gary, Ohio State cross country head coach and assistant track coach, competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Gary’s trip to the 2004 games marked his second trip to the Olympics. His first endeavor came at the 1996 Atlanta games, where he also competed in the steeplechase.

In Athens, Gary was hampered by an injury and failed to qualify for the steeplechase finals.

Gary earned his second bid to the Olympics at the 2004 United States Trials in Sacramento, Calif. with a third-place finish in the steeplechase, posting a career-best time of 8:19.46.

OSU WELCOMES TWO NEW COACHES During the offseason, the Buckeyes announced Kevin Mannon as the new throws coach and the return of Tom Doyle to handle the duties of jumps coach.

A former Buckeye assistant from 1984-93, Doyle rejoined the OSU coaching staff after spending the previous eight seasons as a field events coach at Illinois (1996-2003) as well as a two-year period at Arizona State (1994-95). Mannon also is a familiar face to the Buckeye coaching staff serving as a volunteer instructor to the Buckeye throwers the last two seasons.

2004 CROSS COUNTRY RECAP The Ohio State men’s and women’s cross country teams once again turned in strong seasons in 2004. Despite redshirting three of its top runners from the 2003 season, the men’s team once again established themselves as one of the elite teams in the country, qualifying for the 2004 NCAA Championships for the fourth time in five years. The men’s and women’s teams finished and sixth and 11th, respectively, at the 2004 Big Ten Championships. In addition, the men and women placed first and second, respectively, at the 2004 All-Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships in Delaware, Ohio.

UP NEXT The Buckeyes return to action as they compete in the Iowa State Classic Feb. 11-12 in Ames, Iowa.